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how they did it The wizard’s secrets B Y J O N A T H A N B I N Z E N While Kintaro Yazawa often uses exposed joinery on his wide range of furniture and boxes, only occasionally does he invent joints like the ones on the back cover. When he does, they are one of a kind. If he thinks he can improve one of his joints he might make a new version, but replicating one exactly is just drudgery, he says. The Japanese joint that first piqued his interest in mysterious joinery—the double-twisted dovetail—was explained in FWW #61 by Alan Peters, who learned it from Yazawa. Now, for the first time, Yazawa himself shares the secrets of two of his perplexing joints. In both cases Yazawa’s methods are surprisingly straightforward, and could be adapted to an array of other decorative joints. HAWK’S NAIL JOINT 1 CUT THE PINS AND SOCKETS 3 ROUT THE END GRAIN TALKING TENONS Cut the sockets, leaving an 1 ⁄8 -in.-thick cap. Cut the pins 1⁄8 in. longer than the thickness of the mating tailpiece. Yazawa’s most astounding joint, his letter-shaped tenon, functions on the same principle as the hawk’snail joint. He cuts a mortise, leaving a 1 ⁄8 -in. 2 CUT THE HAWK’S NAIL Cut the decorative shapes through the 1 ⁄8 -in. cap. 4 THE FINISHED JOINT The hawk’s-nail joint is a variation on the through-dovetail. The key to this joint as well as to Yazawa’s decorative tenons is that he gives a decorative shape to only the last ¼ in. of the pins (or tenons). For most of their length, the pins (or tenons) are essentially traditional in shape. 110 Using a router supported by two boards clamped to either side of the pin board, make ¼-in. freehand cuts with a straight, flat-bottom bit, removing all but the penciled portion of the pins. cap. Using a router and very small chisels and rifflers, Yazawa cuts the letters through the mortise cap. Next, he inserts the tenon until it stops against the cap and traces the letters onto the end grain. He then removes the waste between the letters with a router. Trace the decorative pattern onto the end grain of the pins. After pushing the joint home, chamfer the protruding part of the pins. F I N E WO O DWO R K I N G Photos, top and left: courtesy of Kintaro Yazawa; bottom right and drawings: John Tetreault